The present invention relates to a subscriber identification module (SIM) card containment assembly and, in particular, to a SIM card containment assembly for an electronic apparatus such as a cellular phone that utilizes a simplified structure to secure the SIM card in its correct position with minimum parts while allowing easy access.
A subscriber identification module (SIM) card in a cellular phone is typically used for billing and security. The SIM card may also be used for storing operational data such as a phone book and/or quick dial numbers. With a SIM card, a user can operate various phones and still retain, for example, the same phone book and billing charge number. The SIM card thus eliminates the need to reprogram phone numbers and enables a single customer account for multiple phones.
The SIM card is typically mounted in the housing of the cellular phone and secured with a latching assembly. Various latching assemblies are known, however, they typically contain two or more distinct components. When the SIM card is located in a cosmetic region of the phone, a door is typically used to access the SIM card. A separate latching mechanism is integrated into the connector to securely hold the SIM card. In this arrangement, the user must open the door and then unlatch the card by sliding a locking mechanism and/or rotating the lock to gain access to the SIM card. This manipulation can be very difficult due to the small parts and intricate areas involved.